austinkleon:

DJ Rob Swift on the techniques of scratching (and the ethics of copying)

Around 8:53, he explains the principle of what I like to call “transformation is flattery” in chapter two of Steal Like An Artist:

If you’re going to copy, figure out a way to make it better. Figure out a way to incorporate your personality in that particular style that you saw a DJ perform. In that way you’re always trying to keep the art progressing and you’re helping the art grow.

You don’t want to just be a copycat, you don’t want to just be someone who’s replicating what they’ve seen already. You want to understand what a person is doing, learn it, then make it better. That’s what people like Grandmaster Flash, Mix Master Ice, Cash Money all did from that one scratch that Grand Wizzard Theodore did.

(Source: nomadrobot)